By Our Reporter
Shocking testimonies have surfaced which are currently rattling the aviation industry over the emergence of NG-Eagle, a new airline linked to one Alhaji Abdullahi Ahmed Dollar,who is listed as its Chairman.
Beyond NG Eagle Airline, Dollar is largely unknown, except for a vague description of him as the CEO of Dollar Group of Companies, leading Safina Sani Buhari, CEO of EcoSustainable Construction, to question on Facebook: “How come we’ve never heard about him if he’s one of the most remarkable businessmen in Nigeria?” Ms. Buhari was reacting to a Facebook article that praised Dollar’s business acumen as one of the most significant entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
That was until when, on Monday, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opened a can of worms before the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, accusing the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and its associates of funneling billions of naira from Arik Air, under AMCON Receivership, to fund NG Eagle Airlines and its operations.
Presenting evidence under oath, EFCC’s Kaduna Acting Zonal Director, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, told Justice Mojisola Dada that company accounts held by Arik Air recorded suspicious transfers of N1.9 billion and N4.9 billion, diverted away from legitimate airline operations and used instead to bankroll NG Eagle. He further alleged that NG Eagle’s staff salaries, operational costs, and other financial obligations were routinely and openly debited from Arik’s coffers.
As part of its submission, the EFCC tendered a dossier of internal memos, correspondence, payment orders, restructuring documents, and notices of assignment, which it said traced a trail of murky financial transactions. Among them was a 2010 payment of N100 million allegedly authorised by Arik’s then-CEO and documentation showing Arik servicing foreign loans amounting to USD 114,784,000 via authorised quarterly transfers.
The court also saw proof of debt restructuring conducted by Union Bank Plc in 2010 and 2011 for Arik, including a 2015 general indemnity valued at over N46 billion as a guarantee for the bank’s loan exposure. But according to Kaltungo, the figures presented to the court revealed glaring inconsistencies: “What Union Bank sold is N71 billion, but I am seeing N34 billion,” he testified, suggesting massive mismatches in the accounting records following the sale of debt to AMCON.
Among the other explosive revelations was that revenue from crew leasing to another airline, Ibom Air, was never declared under Arik’s receivership. Transfers traced to Ibom Air’s Zenith Bank account, he said, were absent from Arik’s books, raising fresh fears of wide-scale asset stripping.
Questionable payments also surfaced surrounding the leaseback of an Arik aircraft engine: the agreement required monthly rents and fees payable in US dollars, but EFCC says all such payments were redirected to an AMCON remittance account rather than to Arik itself. Documents show the deal was signed by directors of Super Bravo Limited.
The defendants on trial include the former AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, as well as others who allegedly colluded in the diversion of funds. The court has adjourned the matter until January 2 and 3, 2026, for continuation of trial, but the detailed evidence presented Monday has already sparked widespread outrage among aviation stakeholders and Arik employees demanding accountability.